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Sunday 25 March 2018

Thinking Napoleonic

Watching WATERLOO on TV last Saturday made me realise that it is some time since I actually did anything about finishing my Napoleonic project (i.e. renovating, varnishing, and basing my collection of pre-painted 25/28mm-scale Del Prado Napoleonic figures and writing a Napoleonic version of my PORTABLE WARGAME rules), and having decided to put my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War project on hold for the time being, I looked back at some of my earlier blog entries in the hope it would motivate me to do do some work on the project.

Back in August 2011 – and before I expanded the collection with purchases on eBay – I organised some of the figures that I did have into two small Napoleonic armies and used them to fight some battles from the imaginary Cordeguayan Civil War. The two armies were mounted on temporary 50mm x 50mm squares of green-coloured mounting board, with three Infantry figures per Infantry unit, two Cavalry figures per Cavalry unit, and two Gunners and a Cannon per Artillery unit. The results looked as follows:



Looking at these two armies now, I realise that my existing collection would enable me to field similar armies several times over (possibly at least three or four times larger) ... a somewhat sobering thought!

The rules I used were a mishmash based on Joseph Morschauser's rules that became an early version of the PORTABLE WARGAME. The playing surface was a 15 x 15 grid of 50mm squares that easily fitted onto the table in my toy/wargames room and could accommodate both of the two armies I had assembled.

Cordeguayan Civil War: The Battle of the Bridge over the River Blanco


Cordeguayan Civil War: The Battle of the Cherro Rico road


Reading the two battle reports ('The Battle of the Bridge over the River Blanco' and 'The Battle of the Cherro Rico road') made me realise just how much fun I had experienced fighting them, and it was at that point that the motivation to get this project finished started to return. Hopefully it will not dissipate before I actually do anything ... but like so many wargamers, I can resist anything except temptation!

11 comments:

  1. Bob,
    Your Collections of Del Prado Napoleonic are superb. Yes, often we look back on an old project and realize it was much fun- and return to it with great vigor. Certainly hope you can continue with this splendid project. Regards. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev Robertson,

      I need to finish this project, if only to ensure that the figure collection gets some use! (In truth, I suspect that even when I have renovated, varnished, and based all the figures that I currently have in my collection, it will continue to grow as new figures are added!)

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Bob,
    Having bought some beautifully painted Swedes by Jim D
    I am watching this with great interest...
    Alan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tradgardmastare,

      I don't have any Swedes in my collection ... yet! Mind you, I don't have any Spanish, Austrian, Danish, Italian, or German Confederation units either, so my collection could easily end up getting even bigger over the next few years.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Your Napoleonic Armies look splendid Bob - I hope you get them into action again soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maudlin Jack Tar,

      Thanks for the compliment. I certainly hope to have some of the figures in action sooner rather than later.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Stu Rat,

    You are right about the lack of space on that particular battlefield. It did rather restrict the deployment of cavalry and channel any advances in specific directions.

    That said, these battles helped me to begin formulating the rules I will eventually publish as my NAPOLEONIC PORTABLE WARGAME rules.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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